Co-op Receives Grant for Internet Infrastructure

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In mid-August, Delta-Montrose Electric Association in Montrose was awarded more than $10.5 million in grants to help expand its broadband network to remote, rural communities within Montrose and Delta counties. The funds come from the USDA’s Rural Utility Services Reconnect program. In response to the passing of the bill and the grant award to DMEA, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said the electric co-op and its internet subsidiary, Elevate Internet, set the standard for quality broadband in rural communities.

Coming to the area is about 261 miles of new mainline fiber connecting 2,410 households, three educational facilities, 89 businesses and 115 farms. The grant funds make it possible for DMEA and Elevate Internet to provide symmetrical gigabit speeds to another 6,877 people across its rural service territory.

The network DMEA’s Elevate will construct is a 100% fiber optic network. This is a future-proof network that will diminish the digital divide for homes and businesses for 50 years or more.

DMEA Chief Technology Officer Kent Blackwell said in a recent press release, “This is a great day for DMEA and its members. With these grant funds, a huge area for our membership now has light at the end of the tunnel, bringing with it enormous opportunities for our rural farming communities. These areas can now look forward to having a digital opportunity that has, until now, typically only been available to urban communities.

“Elevate is truly focused on its membership, we are driven every day to find sources of funding to make these network extensions happen in financially responsible ways. It is not an easy task, but unlike our competitors that are driven by profits and margins, Elevate is truly driven by customer satisfaction. So to have an announcement from the USDA like this is 10 million reasons to be happy for our members,” Blackwell said.

Rural residents across the area are now one step closer to a modern internet connection and increased access to online education and telework.

New Technology Used to Reduce Fire Risk

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San Miguel Power Association is taking time during the exceptional drought conditions the West is experiencing to explore and incorporate innovative solutions to prevent wildland fires in its service territory.

Like any electric co-op does in high-risk fire areas, SMPA transports electricity through fire zones that are made up of dry, wooded terrain. There is the risk that power lines could spark a fire. In proactive measures, the Nucla-based co-op’s engineers and mapping technicians are building fire map layers to stage a plan for the deployment of “Trip Saver” devices throughout its grid.

The Trip Saver replaces standard fuses on power lines and uses a vacuum interrupter that prevents sparks or heated materials from being discharged. This helps to reduce the chance of a wildfire caused by co-op infrastructure and equipment.

Another added benefit of a Trip Saver is that power outages don’t last very long. After the fault is cleared (80% resolve on their own), the device is able to reclose the circuit without requiring a service crew to drive to the outage location and replace the fuse.

Morgan County REA Announces Home EV Charger Rebate

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Morgan County REA was excited to announce that it recently issued its first rebate for an EV Level 2 home charger installed in its service territory. An MCREA consumer-member purchased a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and asked the Fort Morgan-based electric cooperative to assist with finding home charging solutions.

MCREA offers rebates of 50% of the charging equipment cost, up to $250 to help offset expenses when its consumer-members install home charging equipment.

Installing a Level 2 charger at home can often provide a full charge by plugging in the EV overnight, which helps EV drivers avoid costlier Level 3 fast charging station fees.

Holy Cross Energy Announces Hydro Project

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In a June 23 press release, electric cooperative Holy Cross Energy announced a new power purchase agreement with Grand Valley Hydro, LLC. The project is owned by Orchard Mesa Irrigation District and Grand Valley Water Users Association and will make up nearly 2% of HCE’s annual energy requirements.

The Glenwood Springs-based co-op will receive 22,380 megawatt hours of energy each year from this PPA. This is enough energy to power up to 1,700 average-sized homes per year, according to HCE’s Power Supply Manager Sam Whelan.

This PPA is HCE’s next step in its 100×30 goal to provide its consumers with 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030.

United Power Announces New EV Charging Station

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Brighton-based electric co-op United Power recently announced its second electric vehicle charging station is now open and available for public use. Located at the Market Street Mart in Keenesburg, the 63.5 kW DC fast charger fills a gap for rural electric vehicle owner and drivers between Brighton and Fort Morgan. This EV charging station was installed with help from a grant from Charge Ahead Colorado, a program from the Colorado Energy Office.

Co-op Brings Fiber to Eastern Plains

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Earlier this month, Limon-based electric cooperative Mountain View Electric Association announced an exciting partnership with Conexon Connect to bring a fiber-to-the-home network to its rural communities. Eventually able to serve all of its members in Arapahoe, Crowley, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Lincoln, Pueblo and Washington counties, MVEA’s broadband project will bring nearly 5,800 miles of fiber, gigabit-speed internet to more than 135,000 Coloradans.

MVEA recognized a need for high speed internet in its rural communities and this project will “close the digital divide” between those who have access to advanced technology and those who don’t. This division was especially highlighted these past 14 months in the time of the pandemic when our world turned to virtual solutions for education, telehealth and work-from-home situations.

The co-op says customers should begin being able to subscribe to broadband services beginning in the second quarter of 2022 with a five- to six-year total build timeline.

New Website Promotes Beneficial Electrification

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These days there are more efficient and cleaner electric technologies and appliances available for heating our homes, providing hot water and cooking our food. Electric technologies improve comfort, cooking performance, health and safety, and, in many cases, can reduce energy costs. They are also are a major part of the solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and impacts on climate change.

The Beneficial Electrification League of Colorado launched a new website in June to promote these efficient electric technologies to Colorado homeowners. The new “Love Electric” website (loveelectric.org) helps educate consumers on electric heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and induction cooktops. The website also provides a list of rebates from utilities and local governments. It is a resource for finding qualified heat pump and heat pump water heater installers, which can aid homeowners in getting bids on their next heating or cooling and water heater system upgrades.

But what is “beneficial electrification?” Switching from a non-electric energy source to an efficient electric energy source is beneficial because the electrical grid is increasingly powered by renewable energy. According to loveelectric.org, this means the electrification of certain home appliances and systems can:

  • Reducecustomer costs,
  • Lowergreenhouse gas emissions,
  • Improveindoor air quality, and
  • Utilizegrid resources more efficiently and flexibly.

BEL-CO is a coalition of utility, government, environmental and energy efficiency organizations, including the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, the Colorado Energy Office, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the Colorado Rural Electric Association.

Visit loveelectric.org today to find out how you can electrify and energize your home systems and be part of this movement of beneficial electrification.

SMPA Receives Grant for Two EV Charging Stations

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San Miguel Power Association announced that it received a Charge Ahead Colorado grant from the Colorado Energy Office The grant money will go toward the installation of two Level II Dual Port charging stations: one at SMPA’s office in Ridgway, and another one at its office in Nucla.

“We’re excited to be able to offer this service to our communities,” SMPA CEO Brad Zaporski said in a recent press release. “As folks begin to save money by replacing their gas automobiles with electric, they’re also contributing to a much larger effort to reduce carbon emissions as the electric grid that powers them gets cleaner every day.”

SMPA also offers beneficial electrification rebates to its consumer-members to help cover the costs of electric vehicles or all-electric homes, and lawn mowers and other outdoor power equipment. There are also rebates for private and public EV charging stations installed within the co-op’s service territory.

Co-ops Lead the Way in Grid Defense

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The country’s electric co-ops have been instrumental in providing a market-ready early warning system that detects cyberattacks on utilities. Essence 2.0 was developed through work by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the co-ops’ national trade association, as part of its efforts to defend the nation’s energy supply from unknown, emerging threats.

The system provides “black box” sensing technology that measures the ongoing behavior of operations. Many cyberattacks lay dormant on a system for months before they are identified and mitigated. Essence 2.0 acts as a monitoring tool that accelerates the detection of any anomalies on the system that could indicate a breach.

Developed by NRECA in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, BlackByte Cyber Security, LLC, and Referentia Systems, the program was initiated in 2014. Essence 2.0 was introduced in 2020 and third-party evaluation has confirmed that the program does continuously assess the electric power grid for anything out of the ordinary, using a set of algorithms. When something unusual is detected, the technology provides immediate, real-time indicators.

“Being able to identify emerging threats in real time is the most important element of this approach so that electric cooperatives and other users can adapt quickly — not weeks later — to protect their systems,” said Emma Stewart, chief scientist at NRECA.

Agreements Accelerate Holy Cross Energy’s 100×30 Plan

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Two new projects will help Glenwood Springs-based electric cooperative Holy Cross Energy meet its 100% renewable energy goal by 2030. The co-op recently signed agreements with AES Corporation for a solar project and a battery storage project. Combined, the “solar-plus-storage” projects move HCE toward its renewable energy goals outlined in its 100X30 plan announced in December 2020.

AES will develop the projects that will add a total of 20 megawatts of renewable energy capacity and 40 megawatt-hours of battery storage in two Colorado towns. High Mesa Solar in the Town of Parachute, and Peace Bear Ranch Solar in the Town of Silt, will each provide 10 MW of solar energy and 20 MWh of battery storage. HCE will buy the electricity and storage capacity from both projects.

“Projects like these will allow HCE to attain our 100X30 clean energy goals while keeping power supply costs low,” HCE VP, Power Supply & Programs Steve Beuning said in an April press release from HCE. “We are pleased to be partnering together with AES to develop reliable and resilient energy resources locally that will benefit all HCE members.”

The battery storage will allow HCE to shift electricity production from the solar panels into evening hours when customer demand is often highest. The development of the Peace Bear Ranch Solar project is contingent on the results of engineering studies currently being performed by Xcel Energy to assess grid impacts. Construction is planned to begin later this year, and the projects are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022, subject to county land use permitting approvals.

Future editions of CREA’s Energy Innovations newsletter will keep you informed about the progress and completion of these projects throughout the remainder of the year.